Jose Mourinho Supports Michael Carrick Amid Manchester United Turmoil
The mood around Old Trafford has turned uneasy. The banners and songs remain, but the certainty has gone. Michael Carrick, once the calm in United’s midfield, now stands at the centre of a storm as manager – and one of the men who knows him best has offered a simple, pointed verdict.
“He’s doing well Michael, doing well,” said Jose Mourinho. Then, just to close off any doubt: “I’m happy with that.”
Short answers. Big weight.
Carrick’s tough opening act
Carrick earned the job the hard way. Promoted from within, he turned a caretaker spell into a permanent appointment by dragging United to a third-place finish and a return to the Champions League. It felt, for a moment, like a modern United story: a former player restoring order, reconnecting the club with its identity.
This season has cut through that optimism.
An opening-day defeat to newly-promoted Hull City set an uneasy tone. United then let points slip away in agonising fashion against Everton, a draw that felt like a defeat. Any sense of stability vanished again on Sunday, with a shock 1-0 loss to 10-man Manchester City. Losing a derby always stings. Losing it to a side a man down leaves scars.
Yes, there have been goals and glimpses of fluency. A 5-2 win over Ipswich Town briefly loosened the tension. A routine victory against Sabah FK in the Champions League reminded everyone that United can still overpower weaker opposition. But those games have not shifted the mood. Performances have veered between disjointed and flat, and the crowd knows it.
Carrick has tried to push the conversation forward, insisting United are not dwelling on early setbacks and are instead locked in on what comes next. That next stretch, though, looks unforgiving.
Under the microscope
Brighton & Hove Albion await in the cup. Tricky, technical, awkward. Then comes Fulham at the weekend, a league fixture that now carries the weight of a test rather than a routine assignment. Drop points in either, and the narrative tightens around Carrick’s future and his capacity to manage at this level.
This is the life of a Manchester United manager: the job is never just about the last 90 minutes, but the next 90 as well.
Carrick knows that scrutiny. He lived it as a player and then as part of the coaching staff. Mourinho, during his own spell at Old Trafford, trusted him enough to bring him into the inner circle. That relationship matters when the questions start piling up.
Mourinho’s measured support
Now at Real Madrid, Mourinho was asked for his view on the man who once sat beside him on the United bench. His answer was stripped of drama, almost deliberately so. No tactical breakdowns. No veiled criticism. Just approval.
“He’s doing well Michael, doing well,” he said. “I’m happy with that.”
Coming from Mourinho, those lines carry a particular edge. This is a manager who oversaw 144 matches in charge of United between May 2016 and December 2018, collecting the Community Shield, Europa League and League Cup along the way. He knows the scale of the job, the internal politics, the external noise. He also knows what it takes to win there.
When he left, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer stepped in and chose to keep Carrick on his staff. Different manager, same trust. Carrick has been a constant presence through eras of churn, from Mourinho to Solskjaer and now into his own reign.
A decisive stretch ahead
For now, Mourinho’s endorsement offers a degree of protection, or at least perspective. A decorated former United manager, now in charge of Real Madrid, is content with Carrick’s work. It doesn’t silence the criticism, but it adds a counterweight.
The reality, though, is simple. Words – even from Mourinho – only go so far. Results will decide how long this project lasts, and how far Carrick can take it.
Brighton in the cup. Fulham in the league. Two games, one uneasy club, and a manager walking a narrowing line.
Is this just a wobble in an emerging tenure, or the first sign that United’s latest gamble in the dugout is already under threat?
